Medical equipment such as electrocardiogram equipment utilize a plurality of sensors (e.g., electrodes) to measure physiological parameters. Cables or lead wires connect the sensors to the medical equipment. The sensors typically include adhesive pads. Typically several sensors are applied to a patient to obtain the necessary signals. The raw signals are fed to a processing device such as a computer or electrocardiogram device.
One serious problem with current equipment is tangling. ECG leads may be several feet long. Those skilled in the field will readily appreciate that the cables can easily become tangled with each other and with cables for other sensors, especially during extension and storage. Detangling consumes time, may delay an urgently needed medical procedure and causes premature failure of cables.
To help address the tangling problem, various retraction mechanisms have been conceived. However, such mechanisms generally rely exclusively on spring loaded retraction mechanisms without positive locking. These mechanisms have proven to be somewhat unreliable with a penchant for unintended retraction. This may result in a botched procedure, increased cost and delay of urgently needed medical treatment.
Another problem is that ECG leads may become contaminated during use due to contact with contaminants such as blood, other bodily fluids and medicinal preparations. Unfortunately, heretofore, contaminated ECG leads have been reused without adequate sterilization or decontamination.
Another problem is that the integrity of ECG leads often become compromised during repeated use. Bending, stressing and straining an ECG lead may cause structural failure, particularly in the case of radiolucent leads which are quite fragile. Structural defects may prevent transmission of signals or result in spurious signals.
Yet another problem is that various equipment may require signals from the same type of sensors. Rather than share a sensor, practitioners typically place separate sets of sensors (i.e., electrodes) on a patient. This results in additional clutter and a heightened risk of entanglement. Placement of numerous sensors also consumes additional time and may delay an urgently needed medical procedure.
What is lacking in the art is an effective device for managing ECG leads that utilizes a reliable retraction mechanism with positive locking, provides circuitry and interfaces for sharing signals, cleans cables during retraction and facilitates testing to ensure proper functionality. The subject invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems and fulfilling one or more of the needs as set forth above.